Die Saalfelds » Frank Reich stuck with his old-school philosophy even

Indianapolis Colts were losing games in September and early October.The Indianapolis Colts’ first-year coach insisted that even in an increasingly pass-happy league a balanced offense would turn them into real AFC contenders.Over the past 11 weeks Kendall Sheffield Jersey , the perfect one-two combination has landed plenty of scoring punches, propelling the Colts into an improbable divisional-round matchup at AFC West champion Kansas City.“To me, it’s imposing your will on the defense and what that is, is running when you want to run and throwing when you want to throw and being effective at it,” Reich said on a conference call Sunday. “Always use the boxer analogy, it’s not just throwing punches wildly, it’s landing punches.”Few teams have delivered more big blows since Indy’s 1-5 start.On Saturday, second-year running back Marlon Mack carried 24 times for a career-high 148 yards and one touchdown, leading the Colts (11-6) to a 21-7 victory at Houston. They hurt the league’s No. 3 run defense for a playoff franchise-record 200 yards, breaking the previous mark of 191 from their Super Bowl win over Chicago in February 2007.Mack also broke Zack Crockett’s single-game franchise playoff rushing record (147), set in 1995.And this week, Mack could again become the feature attraction against a defense that finished No. 27 against the run this season.If all this sounds eerily familiar to longtime Chiefs fans, it’s understandable given the previous results.Edgerrin James ran for 125 yards, the third-highest postseason total in franchise history, in a 38-31 victory at Kansas City in January 2004. Joseph Addai rushed for 122 of the Colts’ 188 yards http://www.falconscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-john-cominsky-jersey , now the third-highest total in franchise history, in a 23-8 wild-card round victory over Kansas City. That win jump-started Indy’s title run following the 2006 season.“It’s December football into January,” tight end Eric Ebron said Saturday. “That’s what we’ve got to try to do. We pass it when we have to, but we’re going to try and dominate the run game and try to dominate the line of scrimmage. That’s the kind of football you have to play now.”Even if it deviates from Indy’s longtime image. With Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck behind center for most of the past two decades, the league-wide perception has largely been the Colts are a pass-first team.But Reich has spent this season trying to find balance, and after a rugged start the Colts have seen the benefits.With All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson, a rookie, solidifying the left side of the offensive line and the emergence of right tackle Braden Smith, another rookie, Indy has been able to run effectively across the field.And when Mack returned after missing four of the first five games because of a hamstring injury, the Colts hit their groove.Mack has run for 1,022 yards and 10 touchdowns in the past 11 games, topping the 100-yard mark five times and establishing career highs in four of those games including Saturday’s. He ran for 119 yards and a score in the Colts’ Week 17 playoff-clinching victory at Tennessee and is now the first Indy player since James in 2005, to run for a TD in five consecutive games.Not surprisingly, the Colts have gone 10-1 during that stretch Qadree Ollison Jersey , becoming the third team in league history to make the postseason after starting 1-5 and just the second to win a playoff game. The Chiefs also won a wild-card game in the 2015 season before losing at New England in the divisional round.If the Colts can follow the script once more this weekend, they would become the first 1-5 team to play for a conference championship — and there’s no doubt inside this locker room they can.“We know, and Frank has preached this, in any football game whether it’s playoff or not, you need to control the line of scrimmage,” Luck said.“By no means was it perfect (Saturday), but man the positive run yards we got were great and we know that as an offense when we can do that, we can have a great balance. We can throw it a bunch. We can huddle up. We can go up tempo. We can slow down the tempo. We can run it.” GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — For a change, it was the Packers in a runaway.Aaron Jones ran for career highs of 145 yards and two scores, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams connected for two touchdown passes and the Green Bay beat the Miami Dolphins 31-12 on Sunday.The Packers (4-4-1) pulled away in the second half, sandwiching scoring drives around cornerback Bashaud Breeland’s interception deep in Miami territory. Green Bay went ahead 28-12 on Adams’ 25-yard touchdown catch with 7:24 left in the third quarter.Article continues below ...“This league has always been about big plays,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “You can’t score points without big plays and you have to make big plays to win the game.”Maybe this is the victory that will get the Packers going in the tight NFC North race following a choppy first half of the season.Jason Sanders tied a Dolphins franchise rookie record with four field goals, but Miami (5-5) couldn’t find the end zone. The Dolphins squandered another opportunity on the game-opening drive after Brock Osweiler fumbled away a shotgun snap.The Packers cashed in on that turnover, too Rashan Gary Jersey , when Rodgers and Adams connected on their first touchdown for a 7-0 lead.“We turned it over and we didn’t take advantage of opportunities,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said.His defense also had trouble slowing down Jones, who finished with 15 carries to give Green Bay some much-needed balance.A slashing style and an explosive burst through the hole make Jones a threat to bust a big run on any carry. He accounted for 54 yards of total offense on the opening drive alone.Jones added a career-long 67-yarder to give him 96 yards on four carries in the first quarter alone.“We got the run game going. We had a lot more balance, which we hadn’t had all season,” said Rodgers, who was 19 of 28 for 199 yards.Adams had four catches for 57 yards.BROCK STOPS HEREOsweiler was 23 of 37 for 213 yards in his fifth start for the injured Ryan Tannehill. Miami had 294 yards of total offense, an admirable effort given that they were missing three starting offensive linemen.But Osweiler was sacked six times, including three straight plays late in the fourth quarter.“Overall, I just need to be better and this organization deserves better because we left a lot on the table out there tonight,” Osweiler said.RECORD RUNA 9-yard run with about 3½ minutes left in the first quarter put Miami’s Frank Gore over the 500-yard mark for an NFL-record 14th straight season. He broke a tie with Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton.RUNNING AWAYJones said he had about 10 family members, including both of his parents, in the stands at Lambeau to watch his career night.“It means a lot. I didn’t tell anybody, but I made this game for my parents. So now I’ve got two touchdown balls to give to both of them,” he said. “It works out. It’s a blessing.”COSTLY KICKSanders booted a kickoff out of bounds after his fourth field goal to allow the Packers to start their next drive at the 40, which ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Jones.UNDAUNTED DOLPHINSGase said the team believed they could win on Sunday despite so many injuries Hakeem Butler Jersey , not including the ones that happened during the game. Miami forced two turnovers on special teams, blocking a punt and forcing Tramon Williams to fumble on a return for good field position each time.“That field position, we didn’t take advantage of,” Gase said. “Those type of things, you can’t do against this guy (Rodgers). You do that, it’s just a matter of time before he makes it right.”QUOTABLE“It’s heartbreaking … and then you have a fire in my adopted home of southern California, so it’s been a tough week for sure, and myself and the guys from northern California, our thoughts and our prayers are with those folks.” — Rodgers, who was born in Chico, California, on the wildfires ravaging the state. He wore a dark blue cap from the Santa Monica Fire Department after the game.INJURIESDolphins: RB Kenyan Drake left with a knee injury in the second quarter. … WRs Davante Parker (shoulder) and Jakeem Grant (leg) left in the third quarter.Packers: A defense already missing CB Kevin King (hamstring) lost two more starters in the first half when S Kentrell Brice departed with an ankle injury and linebacker Nick Perry limped off with a knee injury. Brice (knee) and Perry (ankle) had been on the injury report last week for other ailments. … OL Lucas Patrick (concussion protocol) did not return after taking a hard hit while returning a short kickoff in the first quarter. … In the fourth quarter, Breeland left with a groin injury.UP NEXTDolphins: Have a bye next week before a trip to Indianapolis on Nov. 25.Packers: Visit the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday.